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I love my Hillman puppy DVD. Not the cheapest but an awesome puppy DVD.
One of my favorite parts about it is Mr Hillman must say 100 million times throughout the DVD things like "don't squash your puppy" "you need a happy puppy" "look how happy this puppy is" "he's just a little puppy you cant get mad at him"
I think that might be one of the most important parts through the DVD for someone new to training. It's easy to go overboard wanting perfection... But it's just a puppy.

My next puppy I plan on taking through Hillman then move into Lardy's TRT...

One thing that bothers me about most videos is that they show the pup doing things the right way and some people will get discouraged because their pup is not doing it as well as the one in the video. I like to show what can and does happen not just what the end result is. Dog training is a constant thing and you have to work on it for the life of the dog no matter what method you use. Some days the dog will be perfect and some days he is a POS but it is my firm belief that if you start on day 1 promoting good habits it helps a lot later on. The following video is a good example of this. Pocket hasn't had much work lately so she had to be reminded of the right way to do things. With her early puppy training and upholding the standard through everyday of training she knows how she is supposed to do it and it is an easy correction without pressure. If you wait too long to teach these things bad habits are formed and it can get frustrating and also require more pressure to get things right. Do it young to keep it fun or do it late for more headache.

Everyone is so hot on Hillman, so I bought his DVD to train my new pup. I think some of Hillman's ideas and methods are revolutionary. On the other hand, dog training is not a one size fits all sport. I started using Hillman's program exclusively. On many things it worked well. For a pup her age, she is very steady. It took! Hold hasn't worked with his method nor has collar conditioning.

I am not one to keep on doing what isn't working after a reasonable time. So, I have combined Hillman's methods with those in Danny Farmer/ Judy Aycock's Basics which is a more traditional program.

I love Hillman's philosophy, and I admit I may have been doing some things wrong without knowing it. If I was making reasonable progress I would not have used anything else.

I think the gist of what the posters are trying to say is that each dog is different, one training program may be great for one dog and not so much for another. Schedules for progress are pretty meaningless. There are just too many variables. What you have to look for is some progress that is reasonable considering the training time put in, and also recognize that what you are working on now just may not be your dog's strong suit. For example my present pup still doesn't have hold truly in her head after 3 weeks. The pup before was holding, heeling and walking after two sessions! On the other hand it took him six months to achieve the level of steadiness of the new pup.

Hope this was helpful. Take a new outlook- the fun at this stage is bonding and figuring out what you need to do to teach them.

"When a man is proud of his dog and shows it, I like him. When his dog is proud of him and shows it, I deeply respect him.” — Gene Hill

Everyone is so hot on Hillman, so I bought his DVD to train my new pup. I think some of Hillman's ideas and methods are revolutionary. On the other hand, dog training is not a one size fits all sport. I started using Hillman's program exclusively. On many things it worked well. For a pup her age, she is very steady. It took! Hold hasn't worked with his method nor has collar conditioning.

I am not one to keep on doing what isn't working after a reasonable time. So, I have combined Hillman's methods with those in Danny Farmer/ Judy Aycock's Basics which is a more traditional program.

I love Hillman's philosophy, and I admit I may have been doing some things wrong without knowing it. If I was making reasonable progress I would not have used anything else.

I think the gist of what the posters are trying to say is that each dog is different, one training program may be great for one dog and not so much for another. Schedules for progress are pretty meaningless. There are just too many variables. What you have to look for is some progress that is reasonable considering the training time put in, and also recognize that what you are working on now just may not be your dog's strong suit. For example my present pup still doesn't have hold truly in her head after 3 weeks. The pup before was holding, heeling and walking after two sessions! On the other hand it took him six months to achieve the level of steadiness of the new pup.

Hope this was helpful. Take a new outlook- the fun at this stage is bonding and figuring out what you need to do to teach them.

Yep!
Also I think not only is every dog different but the trainer also. I think Danny Farmer is THE very best out there but I don't think I could teach a dog to run blinds the way he does. Everybody always says pick one program and stick with it and I agree to a point. A person that is totally new to training has to have a structured way to go about things and something to learn off of but why limit your knowledge to just one program. I pretty much use the Lardy way as far as the flow chart goes but I doubt I implement it the same way, Probably be more successful if I did. I still do a lot of things the way I did when I started going by the old Tri Tronics book by Jim Dobbs. I also do things the way others do as well as my own way.

Jackie Mertens' "Sound Beginnings" offers good advice on the very basics of teaching a pup how to learn. And forget the calendar. Let your dog tell you how he's doing.

DITTO DITTO!!

You'll see 'brags' here and other places bout the 3 month old phenom that can retrieve a 150 yard mark. Fahgeddaboudit!! Every pup is different: there are a number of examples of the 'slow learner' that takes a while for the light bulb to go on, and then turns into a retrieving fool.

You'll see 'brags' here and other places bout the 3 month old phenom that can retrieve a 150 yard mark. Fahgeddaboudit!! Every pup is different: there are a number of examples of the 'slow learner' that takes a while for the light bulb to go on, and then turns into a retrieving fool.

Ditch the calendar, enjoy the puppy months, they are ephemeral......

Totally agree!
The real message here is not what they can do and when but to start early whatever the case and do whatever the pup is telling you he can do.

I've got two we've brought along with Jackie Mertens. I liked the price; some of her information is very newbie as I'm sure they all are to a point, but it's all good information. Good input here about Hillman, just a little pricey for me. Not familiar w/ Evan's but I'm sure it's good too. I'm absolutley sold on these early development/training DVD's, they get you out and going with your pup early, develop a great work ethic starting out on the premise of fun and the bond you develop is incredible. Not only that but a tired puppy is a good puppy!